Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Internal Communications

[Jude Foster (foster.jude]

Hello everyone.  I want to share the communication system we have been using 
since 2011, at Trillium Hollow in Portland Oregon..  It is an open forum, open 
sourced project, and the basic system is free, from Simple Machines.  Here is 
the link.
http://www.simplemachines.org/

A tech-y member of our community took it on, and set up the initial layout to 
serve our needs, and since then the whole system has grown and thrived.  It 
holds our announcements and discussions, HOA minutes, team minutes, team 
business, community and personal announcements and requests, photos, financial 
info, time-sensitive news, a google-type calendar, etc.    Everything is 
organized like a file cabinet, with headings and sug-headings.  When members 
log on, they can click the “show unread posts since last visit” to stay 
informed.  Minutes and history can always be found; past stuff doesn’t get 
lost; it makes for great transparency and keeps everyone current within a 
complex community.  Some of us use it every day, some check it every couple 
days, some less often - personal preferences and variations continue of course!

We also use email for various reasons - for instance, when teams are editing 
minutes before they get published to everyone - and announcements are also 
printed sometimes.  But this “Talk Central” is the core workhorse of our 
communications.  I happen to be the organizer and manager of it (the 
non-technical side); I delete old posts and keep it current as best I can.    
The free version from Simple Machines has some limitations (you can still only 
attach .doc but not .docx for instance) but compared to the complex array of 
systems some of you still seem to still be using, it is GOLD.

I hope this leads some of you to explore this possibility!
Cheers, from Jude, at Trillium Hollow